


A Tiny Little Gift To Me

by MaroonCamaro



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, No Smut, Rickyl Writer's Group, sort of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-21
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-05-02 15:38:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5253731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaroonCamaro/pseuds/MaroonCamaro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Autumn was always their favorite time of year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>I'm such a jerk! I totally forgot to thank my beta, <a>1lostone</a> ! And here she's been super busy and took time to do this for me! Thank you dear!</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Tiny Little Gift To Me

**Author's Note:**

> Here is my 800 word fic! Just a little snippet in time. Hope you enjoy. The title is from _Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground_ by The White Stripes.

Rick had always loved autumn. He loved the leaves falling from the trees, the fresh peaches at the roadside stand, and the crisp smell in the air. It was finally cool enough that the family could sit outside in the evening without getting eaten up with bugs.

Raking the leaves in a pile just to have Carl jump in them and spread them all around again was one of his favorite things. He could just run the riding mower over the leaves to mulch them up like his neighbor did, but the screams of laughter from Carl made it worth the blisters. ‘Sides, when Carl got big enough he would help rake them back up into a pile just so he could jump in them again.  

Then they’d have a bonfire in the backyard, Rick would dump the leaves in the fire to see it blaze up. Once it settled down the family would roast marshmallows and tell ghost stories. Lori’d always get on him not to scare Carl, but hell, Carl just loved them. Sometimes Shane would come over and tell a couple, which was good, because Rick didn’t really know that many. Carl really liked the ones where there was a moral to the story, like don’t let strangers into the house, or be careful who you make fun of.  

Rick had a lot of fond memories of autumn.

**

Fall was the best time of the year if you asked Daryl. It wasn’t so damn hot that you’d be sticky from the heat all the time. And you could actually sleep at night with the windows open and listen to the night creatures.

All the game was fat and horny, easy pickings. He could fill up the old freezer they had in the garage after a couple of good weekends of hunting. Just about keep him and Merle in meat until next spring. It was a lot of work though, breaking down the carcasses, but it was better than having to come up with the money to buy it, ‘cause they didn’t give food stamps to single guys with no kids.

He really liked how cheap the peaches were this time of year too. Get a whole bushel for almost nothing. They’d put ‘em up in mason jars. Some would be peach preserves and some would be preserved in moonshine. The moonshine rarely lasted long enough to really take on the flavor of the peaches, but the peaches sure soaked up the moonshine.

Daryl really missed those times.

**

Those days were long gone. Now the fallen leaves were a thing to avoid, least you alert a walker. Or something worse. And hunting wasn’t just something you did to fill a freezer, you did it to survive another day.

They were doing that now, Rick and Daryl, hunting and avoiding dead leaves. Rick hadn’t liked leaving the rest of the group to go off hunting with Daryl. But he’d been pacing restlessly around the little house that they’d found and Michonne and Carol had ganged up on Rick and made him go to burn off some nervous energy.

Daryl raised a hand for Rick to stop and cocked his head to the side. Rick wasn’t sure what he was listening for, but Daryl must have liked what he heard because he caught Rick’s eye and nodded. Rick followed after as Daryl quietly treked down a hill.

A creek bubbled merrily at the bottom. It wasn’t very big but it was clear, which meant they could come back and get water from it. Getting food now was one thing, but the search for water never stopped. The days of finding potable water were nearly over and so finding a source of nearly clean water was a rarity Rick wouldn’t overlook.

He was about to slide down the last few feet, but Daryl again put a hand out to stop him. Rick looked around to see if there was a threat or maybe some game around but there wasn’t anything to see. And all he heard was the creek and the sound of birds in the woods around them.

Daryl had sat down with his back against a tree, eyes closed. Rick almost asked if something was wrong, but he didn’t want to break the silence. It was peaceful. He realized then that was what Daryl was doing, enjoying the quiet while he could.

So Rick found his own tree to sit back against so he could listen too. It was nice. And just for a moment he could forget about walkers and being on the run and just trying to survive.  He took a deep breath and smelled the tinge of fall in the air. The world would never be the same; at least there would always be an autumn.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so glad I'm part of the Rickyl Writer's Group! And we have an official page on Tumblr now too! Come check it out! And if you love Rickyl, you can become part of the group! (and for the life of me, I cannot get Tumblr links to work here! grrr)


End file.
